In the Woods
by elleinaustin
Summary: Caroline is finally ready to show up on Klaus' doorstep. She just wasn't expecting that doorstep to be buried in the middle of nowhere Canada. Set 25 years after 5x11. Canonish.
1. Chapter 1

"When Rebecca told her his place was remote, she wasn't kidding. Caroline had been hiking for close to an hour and was beginning to wonder if she had taken a wrong turn. Coming over yet another hill, she finally saw it. The sun glinting off the tin roof caught her eye first before focusing on the modest cabin below that looked nothing like what she imagined it would. Although, if the rumors she'd heard over the last few years were true, Klaus had changed. But it was 25 years since their interlude in the woods and Caroline had changed too. She'd traveled around the world a couple of times. Afterwards, she found it hard to remember who she had been back in high school, back in Mystic Falls. She cringed at those memories mostly. It took her years to discover herself. To figure out what she needed in life, what she _wanted_. Discover her own worth. So here she was, showing up at his door step, hopeful. 

_"New Orleans was a never ending disaster. Klaus just couldn't be there any more. He hated who that city turned him into, cringed at the memories of his behavior. He was a shell of his former self there and he couldn't do it any more. Once Hope was grown and off on her own he took the opportunity to leave. Thought maybe Rebecca had the right idea about being independent of each other. No family to judge or ridicule. No expectations to live up to or fail trying. Just him. He decided somewhere secluded would be a nice change. He yearned to get to know his wolf and live freely as such. He spent hundreds of years trying to free this side of himself and now he wanted to revel in it._

 _That's how he ended up in the mountains of Canada. At least two hours from any sort of civilization, but he could be in a town in 30 minutes if the need arose. He built a cabin with his own two hands. The satisfaction that came with that accomplishment surprised him immensely. He spent most of his days running as his wolf and hunting. The feeling of being free this way was exhilarating. Every time he inhaled the fresh air it felt like 100 years of misery and carnage was lifted off his shoulders. He didn't have to be the villain here - everyone's scape goat for all their sorrow and misfortunes. He didn't have to be anything. He was just Nik again._

Caroline began walking faster towards the cabin, sunset was upon the mountain and she really didn't want to get caught out here at night. While she was sure she could take on any animal that attacked, she didn't relish the idea of fighting an enormous grizzly bear. Arriving covered in bear blood and fur was so not what she envisioned for her reunion with Klaus. As she got closer, she was able to appreciate the beautiful simplicity of his cabin. It was a traditional log cabin. A meticulously carved wood door was centered in the front, flanked by a window on each side, and a porch that spanned the length of the house. A stone chimney climbed the right side of the house and had smoke billowing out the top. There were lights on inside but she didn't hear any movement. She stepped onto the porch, took a deep breath, and knocked. It was now or never she guessed. Her stomach was doing summersaults as she waited for what felt like an eternity. In reality, less than a minute later, a bearded and shirtless Klaus ripped open the door with a look of shock on his face.

"Caroline." His voice sounded rough, like it hadn't been used it months. He cleared his throat and just stared wide eyed at the blonde in front of him. A slow smiled spread across her face as a feeling of wholeness flooded her body at the sight of him.

"Hey," she answered.


	2. Chapter 2

She looks just as he remembered but he can tell she's different. Smarter, stronger, happier. Klaus can't stop his eyes from drawing up and down her form. There's a halo of soft golden light around her due to the sunset behind her. How fitting, he thinks as their eyes meet. "How did you" he trails off as she takes a hesitant step forward, "May I?" She asks at the same time. "Pardon my manners love, please come inside." He steps to the side of the doorway, gesturing with one arm as he uses the towel he was holding in the other to dry his hair a bit more and then tosses it on the back of a chair. The action causes his scent to permeate Caroline's senses as she passes him and she notices his wolf scent is dominate. _That's new_ , she thinks, as she takes a deep inhale.

The main floor of his cabin is one big room, split in the center by a staircase. The kitchen and a small dining table are on her left, a large plush sofa and a leather chair are on her right situated in front of the fire place. The rich wood tones and dark blues and greens make it feel homey and warm. So unlike all the other Mikaelson properties she's been inside. No grand museum quality pieces of art work on the walls. No priceless artifacts meticulously placed. Just the necessary furniture and scattered piles of books and sketches. She turns and catches him giving an appreciative glance down her body. Score one for the dark green hiking pants she found at the local outfitters. They fit snugly and highlighted her bum nicely. She takes this opportunity to appreciate Klaus' new look. Currently in just a pair of thin cotton lounge pants, he's still his lean self. But his hair is longer, she can really see the curls and he has a full mustache and beard. She was never really a fan of the lumberjack fad from her college days but on him it was working! Their eyes meet again and they each let out a quiet laugh. She felt shy for the first time in a decade she thinks.

"You must be tired, hungry?" He asks as he closes the door, breaking her out of her thoughts. He gestures for her to have a seat as he heads towards the kitchen. "I've got some blood bags," he calls over his shoulder. "Only O positive though - up here beggars can't be choosers." Caroline drops her backpack next to the door and unzips the lightweight jacket she was wearing. "O positive is perfect, thanks." Taking off her coat and hanging it on a hook above her backpack. She follows Klaus into the kitchen. He grabs two bags from the refrigerator and hands one to Caroline. Standing on opposite sides of his table, he lifts his bag in the air and tips his head towards her as a sort of cheers motion and begins drinking. Caroline laughs and follows suit. He tosses the empty bag on the table and gives her a wicked grin that reminds her of Mystic Falls Klaus. "So, love, where shall we start?"


	3. Chapter 3

Caroline smiles and drops her empty blood bag next to his. In the blink of an eye, she's on his side of the table. He turns to face her and just like that day in the woods, she looks down at his lips, then up to his eyes as he stares at her paralyzed. She takes one more step forward until they're chest to chest. Holding eye contact, she breathes, "Here." Then closes the gap between them and pressing her lips to his.

Still frozen in place Klaus snaps into action when he hears the soft appreciative hum Caroline lets out. His hands immediately go to her sides pulling her more firmly against him. Then their lips part simultaneously and their tongues meet. The kiss is gentle but firm. Intimate she thinks to herself, glad that even after all this time, the spark seems to still be there for him too. Klaus' thumbs begin gently stroking across her ribs and the bottom of her breasts. Even through her shirt, the action is arousing, causing Caroline's fingers to tighten in the curls at the back of his neck. Her hips jut forward ever so slightly and she feels a low growl vibrate through Klaus' chest.

Klaus is the one to break the kiss, resting his forehead against hers, his eyes scanning back and forth across her face trying to decipher her feelings. But she keeps her eyes closed, just soaking up the feeling of being here with him, inhaling his scent. "Your different," she says, so quietly he thinks he may have imagined it. He lets out a short hum in response and gently presses his forehead my firmly against hers. She opens her eyes and licks her lips as she takes a step back, his hands moving to hold her at the elbows. "Calmer," she says almost as a question. Klaus nods with a soft smile that takes her back to an afternoon in Mystic Falls. The afternoon he looked at her with a shy smile and asked if they could be friends after she had spent an hour digging around in his back for non-existent white oak and screamed at him. She knows now, 25 plus years later, that simple gesture from him was the beginning of what she felt today. Of what she hoped they could become.

"Why don't we get you settled love. I assume you plan to stay the night?" He asked a bit warily. "For a start," Caroline answered cheekily, walking over to pickup her backpack. She didn't exaggerate the bend forward to grab said backpack at all. No, that's how she always picked items up. Klaus laughs quietly while still admiring her backside. She turns with a grin and follows as he lead them upstairs. The second floor was a large open loft. Two floor to ceiling windows faced out the front of his cabin. Another small window was on the right wall and a smaller second fireplace on the left. Klaus had a large bed adjacent to the fire place and an armoire across from it. The right side of the room was a makeshift art studio and the back half dedicated to the bathroom. A long wooden table was situated between the two front windows. One side of the table covered with sketches and sketch books. Charcoal and drawing pencils littered throughout. The other side was dedicated to his painting supplies. Brushes arranged in glass containers and tubes of oil paints laid randomly. In the front corner sat a large easel. There wasn't a canvas on it but she could see several lined up against the wall behind it.

"I've only the one bedroom, as you can see. I never anticipated having any guests really." Klaus says while scooping up a few dirty laundry items and tossing them into a basket next to the armoire. "I'm sure we can manage," Caroline answers with a smile while taking in the room. "The bathroom is over here," he leads her to the back corner. It's smaller than any he's had in the modern age but it still houses a rather generously sized steam shower and marble top vanity. She's relieved, honestly a bit worried about the plumbing situation all the way out here. He must have been able to read it on her face as he says with a grin, "I maybe living a simpler life but reverting back to a time without indoor plumbing voluntarily seemed excessive."

"But a marble vanity in the middle of nowhere didn't?" Caroline teases. "Baby steps," he responds.


	4. Chapter 4

Klaus excuses himself from the bathroom and quickly grabs a black t-shirt from before jogging down the stairs still barefoot. He decides preparing some real food would be a good distraction from the blonde of his dreams currently humming beautifully upstairs. His mind wanders to memories of her sinewy frame when he hears her step into the shower but he quickly shakes himself out of it. Grabbing a couple elk steaks from the ice box and his cast iron skillet, he starts preparing dinner.

Caroline opens the door of the steam shower and exhales loudly as she steps out. Initially, she planned to just rinse off and be downstairs again in no time. She was almost giddy with excitement. Eager to tell him everything about her travels and to know everything about New Orleans. But once she stepped into that shower and the steam got going, her body succumbed. She hadn't realize how on edge she'd been these past couple weeks while searching for Klaus. Hell, maybe even these past couple years as she struggled to come to terms with, first, the realization that something was missing from her life and, second, that that _something_ was Klaus. So she surrendered to the shower, let the warmth wash over her and cleanse all of that anxiety and fear, and now stepping out of the shower felt empowered to take what she wanted.

She towel dries her hair and then braids it loosely. Leaving her face bare, she pulls on a pair of black yoga leggings and a soft plain grey cotton t-shirt. Simple and comfortable but still stylish and maybe she wearing her favorite sheer black lace bra underneath. You know, just in case. She gives herself one last look and pep talk before opening the bathroom door. She can hear Klaus cooking in the kitchen and something smells delicious but the opportunity to snoop a little in his bedroom is too hard to pass up. She walks over to the table and as quietly as possible looks through a small stack of sketches. She sees blue print like sketches of his cabin and lots of landscapes, which she assumes are from the surrounding area.

"Caroline," Klaus sing songs her name up from the bottom of the stair case, "dinner is ready if you can pull yourself away from snooping."

Damn! Just as she was about to open a well worn looking book she had a hutch would heavily feature sketches her. Or at least she had a _hope_ would heavily feature sketches of her.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she says with a laugh. Making her way to the staircase she glides down with ease and excitement. Whatever he was cooking really did smell divine and she was hungry!

"Mmmm, this looks good," she compliments while coming up to the table he has set for the two of them. Two plates of steak cooked rare and generous servings of green beans sat plated with a two glasses of wine that she could smell were laced with blood.

"Have a seat, love," Klaus guides her with his hand at the small of her back, pulling out the chair. Once she's settled he leans down to brush soft kiss against her cheek and her eyes fall closed as he whispers _enjoy_ he into her ear, sending chills down her whole body. He notices she smells like him, due to her use of his body wash, and it serves to immediately drive him wild. When she opens her eyes, Klaus is sitting opposite her at the small table, with a smug grin on his face. Caroline rolls her eyes at how pleased with himself he is and lays the napkin in her lap.

"So, what are we having?" She questions with her own cheeky smile, looking over her plate.

Klaus follows suit with his napkin and answers casually, "Elk steak filets with balsamic green beans."

Caroline's head shoots up, "Elk steaks?"

"Oh come now, love, surely you've had more exotic foods than elk in all your years traveling?" Klaus answers back while cutting into his steak and taking a large bite.

"Maybe," Caroline sasses back and following Klaus' lead, cutting into the juicy steak and taking a large bite of her own. "Mmmmm," she groans, "this is delicious!" She quickly cuts another bite, this time forking some green beans as well.

"Klaaaauus." she groans again. "Seriously! This is really good! Who knew the big bad hybrid could cook?" She laughs.

"Sweetheart, there are so few things in this world I _don't_ excel at," Klaus grins at her over his wine glass.

"Obviously, modesty is one," Caroline interjects.

Klaus laughs uproariously. "Oh, I've missed you," Klaus says without even thinking.

Their eyes meet and the weight of his off-hand comment starts to settle over both of them. It's true though, what Klaus said, he really has missed her. Her laugh, her wit, her intelligence, her warmth, her style, her — Caroline-ness. He's never been so endlessly interested in a person and no one has ever come close to being able to keep up with him. Everything between them is so natural and effortless. The two of them eating the dinner he prepared, in the cabin he built, in the middle of nowhere, 25 years after last seeing each other - it should have been awkward. He should have felt nervous and anxious about why she was here and how long she'll stay but instead they both so easily fell back into their little bubble. Their own little world that is Klaus and Caroline. No one understands them like the other. They're somehow in sync, even after _all_ this time. They're the same.

"Really?" Caroline asks timidly, hiding behind her full lashes. Yes, she's a well traveled, mature, experienced woman but every once and a while her insecurities about being inadequate still creep in.

"5, 10 years ago, I would have said, more than I care to admit."

Caroline lets that sink in for a few beats before asking, "And now?"

Klaus lets out a deep exhale while pinning Caroline to her spot with his intense stare, "And now I have no qualms admitting — I've missed you desperately."


End file.
